Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/23/2024

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I reviewed a May credit card bill today and found a $249 charge authorized, paid and posted on 5/8/2024. I did not authorize the charge to my card. The last email notice I received in any mail folder was 11/23/2023. It notified me that a personal website was created for me to review and customize. I do not recall doing either. Most emails were notification that some form of my name was "mentioned" or a discount for an upgrade to the premium account was available. I never took them up on that, mostly because all the name mentions were others with my same name. My welcome email from Academia.edu was 10/26/2023 with a button to confirm my account, which I believe I did. My only not-so-deep dive into their website, I realized it was not what I was looking to pursue. Fast-forward to today... I do not know how I got into my account from the search engine I used but, I found myself on a Home page with my name on it. I discovered what I expected, that I did not have a premium account. I tried finding what the $249 charge to my account *** have been for, but I was unable to do so. I looked for a phone number to call, or a window to chat with support. During the process, I got off my account. When I tried to get back on, my password did not work. I tried to change my password, but the email address they used to send correspondence to me, did not receive the email I should have today. I am pleased that I found a BBB-Academia.edu connection, because all I fount were two ************* addresses. Perhaps I would still be looking for a phone number. Please contact them on my behalf and ask them to send me an email, or text me with a phone number so I *** call them back. I would like a refund, but I think my 30 days are nearing an end. Thank you for your assistance.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/24/2024

  Hi,
  
  So sorry that there's been confusion! If you're looking for a refund and are within our 30 day refund guarantee, our staff can typically help you out. Submit a support ticket and our Premium team will assist you as soon as they're able, though please keep in mind that Monday (May 27) is a national holiday. Start by clicking here: *****************************************************************************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/08/2024

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On Feb 18, 2024 Academia.com charged my credit card $124.50 USD for a "premium annual subscription" to online services publishing authored papers on specific subjects that are academic or intellectual in nature from researchers, doctors, graduate students from known higher learning institutions. Since this amount was posted on my **** credit card ending in *****, I have not received any published papers from Academia.com. The $124.50 must be refunded to the same **** credit card ******************************* *******************

  Business Response

  Date: 05/14/2024

  Hi,

   

  Thanks for following up. We processed a refund for your payment. Please let me know if you have other questions.
  

  Academia Support
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/08/2024

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I just found in my May 2024 **** statement a charge for $135 US Dollars for a premium subscription with Academia.edu -from march 30th of this year- I did not consent, and without them ever notifying any changes, upgrades, anything. I checked my emails years back: there are not receipts for any payments, welcoming emails, invoices, warnings of future charges (i.e. like in "free trials for 7 days and then...). NOTHING. Even worse: I never requested nor approved services that I was never notified that I was receiving or being charged for. I could not have "guessed" I consented to anything by "magic" or accident if I repeatedly received invitations from Academia to check my name on papers and "enjoy upgrades", etc. I already tried to contact them by phone (useless) and by mail and got an auto-response giving me a case number: ******. I want for them to reimburse my charges -any charges obtained without notification/invoices/receipts-, and then I want to cancel my -the one I assumed until today was a free-account, something I would love to do right now (please advise) but I honestly, do their questionable practices, am afraid to do so before solving this matter. After a solution is reached, I want my name, email, all data removed from their academia.edu databases and a written confirmation of said removal as proof. I do not know nor recall of sharing my credit card number, or authorizing them charging it, and I never got any notice of me being using a "paid service". I don't understand how they got my credit card info but I need to make sure they cannot use it ever again. I saw that *** not be affiliated to BBB, but weather they are or not, a warning should be massively shared with the public. Their practices border fraud, are definitely not transparent, and as far as ethical care of "customers" (by force, but regardless) this is a company not to be trusted, not while acting like this. Please help. Sincerely, *************************, Psychologist, Author (Penguin Random House)

  Business Response

  Date: 05/09/2024

  We processed two refunds for this user, both on their annual payment and their low cost trial payments. Our checkout page does indicate the schedule of payments, which we have attached. We are also in contact with this user via our support team.

  Our records do indicate that there was a visit and a billing to our checkout page from this account, which is where the billing came from. We're sorry for any confusion. 

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/06/2024

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I have just found out this morning that academia has just charged my Mastercard as for today May 3, 2024 for a US Dollars 129,23 for unknown reason. They started by sending me unwanted emails asking me to upgrade to their premium membership or offering services that I do not need such as someone is reading my paper. I always refuse that. I don't know how and when they my get Mastercard information because I even don't know how I became a member in the first place with disclosure of credit card information. I filed the complaint to academia and currently looking for ways to cancel membership to this organization because I do not have password to access their system in order to stop any further automatic billing.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/06/2024

  Hello,

   

  It looks like we already responded to this user in their ticket ID ****** and processed a refund.
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/06/2024

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I signed up for a FREE trial apparently back in January 20 and never signed in and never saw the email until I was charged the 159. I tried several times to call only to reach a voicemail saying they would get back to me in three business days. I am on unemployment so every dollar matters to me so I need to get my money back immediately. I need a way to get in direct contact with the company.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/07/2024

  Hi ******,

   

  Thanks for getting in touch. Our records indicate that your support ticket (#******) was answered by our team member and a refund for your payment was processed. A refund receipt is attached.

  
  Let me know if you have any questions.
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/08/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Lord ***********************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/03/2024

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Academia Edu charged me $249 this afternoon for no reason. I was not even on their website before and had no idea of their existence. I would prefer contacting them and getting a refund. This has never happened before and is very serious. I don't know was my payment method achieved.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/06/2024

  Hi ******,

   

  Thanks for message. If we billed you $249, we definitely have an account for you on the site - however, we did not see a billing with this name or email address. Could you contact our support team at ***************************************************************************************** with the last 4 digits of the card where you saw the charge, the amount, and the date you saw the charge? They can almost certainly get this sorted out for you.
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/15/2024

   
  Complaint: 21664676
  
  I am rejecting this response because: Sorry, the email that was linked to the payment was my dad's email

  ****************************

  Sincerely,
  
  ****** ***

  Business Response

  Date: 10/18/2024

  Hi,

  
  Thanks for following up with this concern. Unfortunately, due to the time passed since the payment was made (May), we are not able to process a refund at this time.
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/21/2024

   
  Complaint: 21664676
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  

  I understand your refunding policy, but that should only apply to your customers who consented to have their payment proceeded. However, neither me nor my dad has ever had any contact with your business in the first place, yet we were charged a large amount of money. I don't hope to suspect illegal activities associated with getting the credit card info from my dad, but if I do not receive the proper word, I will need to take other actions. In all, I hope to be separated with your regular customers when dealing with this issue because it is getting serious.

  Thank you for you consideration,

  
  ****** ***

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/25/2024

  Academia Edu charged my father's email address ******************* $249 on a sudden occasion. None of us had ever been on their website and had no idea of their existence. I would prefer contacting them and getting a refund. Their initial response was that since the money was processed in May of 2024, they cannot issue a refund. However, we are not their customers, therefore have no obligation to follow their refund policy; they attained my money without consent. I don't even know how was my father's payment method achieved in the first place. Thank you for considering my complaint, ******

  Business Response

  Date: 10/25/2024

  
  
  Thanks for getting in touch with us on this issue. It looks like you are outside our 30 day refund guarantee for your Academia Premium subscription at this time.
  
  If you're interested in only having Academia Premium benefits for your current subscription period, you can cancel your subscription at any time in your Academia Premium subscription settings. We won't charge you again, and your benefits will lapse.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/28/2024

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Academia.edu charged me an auto-payment of $249.00 for a premium subscription without notifying me of the upcoming charge or that my account had been upgraded to premium, i.e., they did not thoroughly warn me that my trial period was ending and did not tell me that I would be charged this, or any, amount before charging my bank account. I have cancelled my account and would like Academia.edu to issue me a refund of the full amount.

  Business Response

  Date: 03/29/2024

  Thanks for getting **************-renew was indicated in your Academia Premium subscription settings, so you were billed in accordance with that preference. Academia Premium includes great upgrades to our free ***************** such as Mentions (see who cites you), Readers (see who's reading your papers), our PDF packages of all documents related to a paper you like, and more.
  
  Since it sounds like that wasn't intended, I have refunded your payment. Depending on your bank, you will see the refund show up anywhere between 5-10 business days from now.
  
  As a free member, you'll *********** to all our Academia free features, such as uploading and downloading single papers, messaging, basic analytics, title search, and your profile.
  
  Please let us know if we can help you out with anything else regarding Academia or Academia Premium. Thanks for getting in touch!
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/18/2024

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  My **** card was charged this weekend by Academia Edu for an amount of $249.00 for a charge I had never authorized and a service I had never purchased nor used. Upon filing a complaint with that company, I learned to my shock that they have been charging my card for THREE YEARS for services I never requested nor approved and services I have never received or used, and services that I was never notified that I was receiving or being charged for. All of this was unknown by me. I never received a single notice or email or invoice of any kind. They were simply charging my credit card. In fact, their company continually sends me ads asking me to sign up for their paid service which I have never done nor desired. So they say I do not have their paid service. Yet they were charging me for a paid service that I was not receiving. It looks like they offered a free service to me 3 years ago, but then started charging me for that service and escalating the charges greatly-- all without any notice. This is fraudulent and theft. This is a fraudulent company. I demand full reimbursement of all charges taken from my credit card, and removal of my credit card entirely from their database.I demand a refund of all these charges $249, $163.50 $54.50, $75.60 = $542.60 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Billing History on Academia.EDU **************************************************************** You haven't enrolled in Academia Premium yet Academia Premium is a powerful set of new tools to help you get more out of Academia.03/15/2024 Academia Premium Annual Plan $249.00 View receipt 03/15/2023 Academia Premium Annual Plan $163.50 View receipt 03/15/2022 Academia Premium Annual Plan 50% OFF PROMOTION $54.50 View receipt 02/19/2022 60% OFF PROMOTION $75.60 View receipt

  Business Response

  Date: 03/19/2024

  Hi ******,

   

  Thanks for getting in touch.  We processed a refund a refund for your most recent payment. Unfortunately, we are not able to process refunds for payments over 180 days old.

  
  It also looks like you have an open case with our team member, *****. Please follow up with her if you have any questions.
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/20/2024

   
  Complaint: 21450689
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  1) I have already been in touch with ***** and she is not responding to my requests.
  
  2)  I need my  credit card info on your site removed,   
  Your site does not show where or how my credit card//payment info is stored and does not let me remove it.   
  I have no idea how you even got my card. 
  I require the total removal of my payment info/credit card from your web site myself  with written proof, confirmation
  and prefer to be able to remove it myself.

  3) I demand FULL refund of the THREE previous payments you took from my card -- because
  a) you took 3 payments from my cr card without my permission or knowledge  1 year ago and 2 years ago
  b) I had no information or notice whatsoever that you had my credit card no. and that you could or would charge my card
  c) I have only your "free" service, I have never recieved nor used nor been given any notice of having  a paid service
  d) I have never wanted nor sought nor approved nor recieved your paid service, only the free one.
  In fact your web site keeps asking me to BUY the paid service
  e). You are a fraudulent business.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

  Business Response

  Date: 03/20/2024

  Hi ******,

  Thanks for following up. I see that ***** responded to you yesterday, she responded to you today, and you have responded back to her. I've attached that interaction for our records.

  Our records also indicate that there were 33 interactions with Mentions, our Academia Premium feature, through your subscription years of 2021, 2022, and 2023. You would not be able to access the pages that we have a record of your account accessing if you did not have access to Academia Premium, and you can only get access to Academia Premium by upgrading using a payment method and being billed successfully. I have attached a record of those logged hits for our reference.
  

  I have removed your payment method from our system and have let our product team know that it would be better if you were able to remove it yourself. Your feedback to improve our Academia Premium payment systems is appreciated!

  Unfortunately, as I indicated (and has ***** has indicated), we are not able to process any refunds for payments older than ********************************************** payment processor and they may be able to assist you further with these payments.

  We're sorry for any inconvenience.
  

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/09/2024

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Academia.edu charged me an auto-payment of $249.00 for a premium subscription without notifying me of the upcoming charge or that my account had been upgraded to premium, i.e., they did not thoroughly warn me that my trial period was ending and did not tell me that I would be charged this, or any, amount before charging my bank account. I have cancelled my account and would like Academia.edu to issue me a refund of the full amount.

  Business Response

  Date: 02/09/2024

  Hello,

   

  Thanks for getting in touch with this issue. We indicate in the bottom of the original upgrade email that there is a 30 day trial period, and you can always see your current billing status in your Academia Premium settings here: ****************************************************************. Additionally, it also says on the checkout page you will be charged an annual subscription at the end of the 30 day period if you do not cancel.

   

  Since you are within our 30 day refund guarantee, I've processed a refund for your payment. You should be see that back on your card in the next **** business days.

   

  Please let me know if you have other questions.
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/06/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  The complaint is against www.academia.edu, an organization offering citation information to academicians. They have a premium service, which I am not sure what it does but they charge for an annual fee. The charges are on auto renewal, except that the company doesn't ever send any notifications to members about the renewal. Apparently I have been a member of this premium service since 2020 without my knowledge and have been charged an annual fee of $99 since 2020. This June, the auto renewal was $173.50 and this amount showed up on my credit card as something unusual. This was the first time I noticed that I was charged for something I didn't buy. I now downloaded all of the receipts: $99 for 2020, 2021, and 2022, and $173.50 for 2023. I was never informed that I had this premium membership, never was notified ***** days before auto renewal that I was going to be charged, I never received an email with receipt or thank you or that "your account was renewed". No emails at all from the company for the 4years I had been a supposed member. I contacted the company and demanded a refund. They have broken their legal obligations because they have never notified me before the automatic membership renewal. I requested the payments to be refunded for 2021,2022, and 2023. They refunded the 2023 charge of $173.50 but not the $198 that was for the membership auto charges for 2021and 2022. I am fi ling this claim because of these fraudulent business practices of this company. The company is located at ****************************************, phone: ************ I have received a refund for the 2023 charge but not 2021 and 2022, both of which were charged without my approval. I request a refund of $198 (2 years of $99 each).

  Business Response

  Date: 07/11/2023

  Hello,

   

  Thanks for getting in touch with us on this concern. Unfortunately, at this time we are not able to process a refund for subscriptions whose full duration has already elapsed. We apologize for this frustration.

   

  Academia Support
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/11/2023

   
  Complaint: 20284280
  
  I am rejecting this response because: 

  Acedemia.edu broke the law by not advising that they were going to charge a subscription fee, as requested by law, ***** days prior to charging. One cannot request an expedient refund on something one does not know is being charged. 

  There is no "expiration" date for refund because of the breaking of the law. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************, Ph.D. 

  Business Response

  Date: 07/13/2023

  Hi ******,

   

  Sorry for the confusion and frustration here. Per our terms of use, you agree that in an Academia Premium annual subscription will be billed on your subscription date until you cancel. You can read more about our subscription here: ****************************************

   

  If you feel you have been charged in error or fraudulently, you  may be able to contact your bank, credit card, or other payment method, to pursue possibilities to recover your payment. Please let us know if there is anything else we can help you with.
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/14/2023

   
  Complaint: 20284280
  
  I am rejecting this response because: independent of what the contract states, there is a legal commitment on the part of the firm to notify subscriber of a renewal and associated charges ***** days prior to such automatic renewal regardless of what the corporate contract states. The legal regulations of the state/federal override the corporate regulations when it comes to consumer protection laws. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************, Ph.D.